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Figure
All units in Master of Magic are comprised of individual entities called Figures, represented by the icon throughout this wiki. How many of these are still capable of fighting is known as the unit's Figure Count. The maximum amount of Figures that a unit can have is hardcoded for each type of unit, and is one its base attributes. Some units, most notably Heroes, ships, war machines, and high-end Fantastic Units, contain only a single Figure. They are often called Single-Figure Units for this reason, and signified across the wiki by the symbol. Combat with these units is somewhat risky, as losing their only Figure means the destruction of the unit itself. However, they are typically quite powerful in comparison, and suffer no ill effects from taking that does not destroy them. Conversely, units that can have more than one Figure are called Multi-Figure Units, a fact often denoted using the icon on the wiki. The entities making up these units are generally weaker individually, sometimes by a large margin. They become competitive on the battlefield thanks to their numbers. However, as these units suffer , they gradually start losing their , becoming weaker and weaker offensively. The unit is not destroyed though, as long as it has at least one Figure remaining. The amount of in a unit plays a major role in combat resolution. Most Conventional Damage attacks, and even many Special Attacks, are executed individually by each standing Figure in a unit. Thus, the more , the more potential the unit can deliver. The maximum Figure count also determines the unit's maximum health, or , which in turn sets out the amount that they can naturally heal between overland turns. Concept Many strategy games represent battle units as groups of individuals. Master of Magic is no different. Each Figure in a unit is a separate soldier or creature. Unlike most similar games though, attacks made by the unit are typically not an aggregate generated from the sum of the Figures. Instead, although the act of attacking is still unit-wide, every Figure's attack is actually resolved on its own. Similarly, if a unit suffers an attack capable of hurting multiple creatures or soldiers, they can also each defend on their own. While there are some exceptions in both cases, this makes combat more realistic overall, and amplifies the importance of unit attributes, such as Attack Strength and Defense. Current and Maximum Figures In most scenarios where a unit's Figure count is examined, what matters will be the amount of its current . This is what determines how many attacks the unit can make in a single action, or how many it has to make against -based Special Damage spells and Gaze Attacks. The maximum Figure count instead comes into play whenever the unit is healed, whether naturally, or by magical means. While remaining are dynamic, the maximum count is pre-set, and is one of the defining attributes for each type of unit. Single-Figure Units Units with a maximum Figure count of 1''' are collectively termed units. They are typically separated from other units either by size, or by capabilities. The former group includes all ships; Settlers; Catapults and Steam Cannons; Stag Beetles; Dragon Turtles; and large Fantastic Units, with the sole exception of the , whose heads are actually considered individual . The latter group contains all Heroes; and ; and ; , , and ; and , and the . Units with the Caster ability are always , although some units also have spell-like Unit Abilities that can be used once per battle per unit. '''Single-Figure Units generally have much higher per Figure values than those that contain multiple , although this does not necessarily mean a higher total, especially when compared to mounted units, that have two to four riders. This is important because units retain their full combat effectiveness until slain or destroyed, meaning that they suffer no ill effect from taking . Similarly, the and Attack Strength of these units also tends to be higher, although the margin here is often not that large. Because opponents have to attack individually, the higher means that it requires more potential to consistently hurt units. In other words, units with more but lower strength typically have a harder time injuring them. On the other hand, the higher Attack Strength of these units therefore makes them better suited to combat other units. Because of the singular Figure, many combat mechanics are easier to understand in relation to Single-Figure Units. The total health of the unit always equals the of that one Figure, while its recorded Damage Points will always match the "top figure damage" (see below). Since the falling in battle automatically destroys the entire unit, there is no system of losing- and regaining to explain either. However, it may be worth remembering that internally, the game does not distinguish between and units. The mechanics described below apply equally to Single-Figure Units too, even if they don't normally have any practical consequence. Multi-Figure Units Units with a maximum Figure count of 2 or more are called . These can range anywhere between and , although this last amount is only avaliable on the . The maximum count is typically related to the size or space requirements of the individual entities that comprise the unit. For example, most Normal Units containing foot soldiers have . Spearmen and Pikemen, that attack in formation, have ; while ground units mounted on horses or similar beasts consist of riders. " count is numerically indicated when inspecting it.]] The current Figure count of Multi-Figure Units is not numerically indicated anywhere in the game, with the again being a sole exception. Instead, the player must visually inspect the unit in combat, or in the unit statistics window overland, and count the Figures manually. Although the unit's total health is shown as a bar both overland and during battles, this is often not a sufficient indicator. Because a Figure with even a single left can perform attacks, whether there is one less or more can make all the difference in certain situations. The Top Figure tracking in Master of Magic is designed such that there can only ever be one injured Figure in a unit. For units, this naturally means that all other remaining in the unit are always at full health: the unit's per Figure value. If there is a hurt, but not destroyed Figure, the unit statistics window indicates the Damage Points done to this Figure both numerically, and by darkening out some of the bright icons in its display. This Figure is often termed the "foremost-", or "lead-"; but most commonly, the "top figure". Top Figure Damage :If there is a damaged Figure, the it has taken is usually called the "top figure damage". If the unit is unhurt however, or its total recorded Damage Points are divisible by its per Figure value (without remainder), then the "top figure" actually has no significance whatsoever. In fact, during the resolution of most Damage Types, it doesn't matter whether there is an injured Figure or not. Regardless, this information may still be important to the player, for example, when trying to decide which unit to target with a spell. Conventional Attacks When performing Conventional Damage attacks ( , , , or ), a Multi-Figure Unit will execute that attack as many times in a row as it has remaining . The Attack Strength of each of these will match the related attribute of the unit. The game documentation mistakenly claims that only one attack is performed, with the product of the Attack Strength and the Figure count, but this is not actually the case. Instead, each Figure conducts an individual, separate attack with the listed strength. This can make a huge difference against oponents with a high , which the manual's version of the attack mechanic would have no problem punching through, but in practice, is often very effective against Multi-Figure Units. It's worth noting however, that while the attacks are resolved individually, any they deal is applied collectively, and only once they are all processed. This also remains true if there are added effects, such as Touch Attacks, affixed to the conventional ones. Their is calculated separately, and then added to the total. Cause Fear :The Cause Fear ability, along with its Unit Enchantment ( ) and Item Power ( ) versions, are designed to prevent some, or all of an enemy unit's from participating in a engagement. This effect is inserted into the Melee Sequence after short-range attacks, but before mutual . The opponent must make as many checks as it has remaining , and for each failed roll, the amount of that can perform their Melee Attacks is reduced by one. If they have Touch Attacks, those won't be executed either. The effect is temporary though, and lasts only until this specific sequence is finished. :Unfortunately, Cause Fear is severely bugged in the official game, no matter what source it is gained from. It does not work at all when the unit possessing it is being attacked, while it will also affect itself if it is the attacker. However, both mistakes are corrected in the unofficial Insecticide patch, starting with which this ability can be particularly useful against units. Its main weakness is the fact that it does not apply any penalties, which makes it ineffective against higher tier units. Conventional Defense Multi-Figure Units struck by Conventional Damage behave in a peculiar way if the "raw" exceeds their per Figure value. Their first Defense Roll is made as usual, using the unit's effective score. If this can't block enough to bring the "raw" value below the of the Figure, the attack is deemed to have destroyed a . When this happens, the remaining "raw" is directed against another Figure. However, it can't go directly to hurting it, as that individual likely has its own or other protective measures. Thus, a new Defense Roll can be made by the unit, potentially reducing the "raw" again. This cycle then keeps repeating until all of the is fully processed. There are two quirks in this system that are not necessarily intuitive. First, "top figure damage" is ignored entirely if the attack came from an enemy unit, as opposed to a spell. That is, the that "take" the in this case are always assumed to be uninjured ones, even when there are none of these left in the unit. Second, as a consequence of this and the simultaneous application of mentioned above, the Defense Roll mechanic remains in place even if the unit is theoretically destroyed by the point that the attack is being resolved. This is often called "Overkill Damage", and is explained in more detail in the article on Damage Points. Area Damage :Area Damage is a subtype of Conventional Damage. It is essentially a modifier that changes the resolution process in two ways. First, instead of performing a single attack, Area Damage executes as many as the target unit has standing . This can be devastating to units, as the strength of the attack will be the same against each Figure, and is not divided among them. However, the other change is that none of these attacks can actually inflict more Damage Points than that particular Figure has , meaning that this type of always has to consider "top figure damage". :Naturally, for all but the foremost Figure, the they can take equals the unit's per Figure value. Should the "raw" exceed this after the Defense Roll, the remainder is simply discarded, rather than being directed at another Figure, as would be the case with non-Area Damage. The same is true for the "top figure" - the only difference is that it's are only minus the "top figure damage", so this is what the is limited to. :On the other hand, once the is calculated, it will still be applied to the unit as a whole. This is to stay consistent with the system of one injured Figure per unit. Thus, quite often, the that takes the Area Damage is not the same as the one that defended against it. This also means that the distribution of the Damage Points among the is irrelevant, with regards to the final outcome. Figure-based Special Damage Many sources of Special Damage are Figure-based. This usually means that whenever they deal , it will be equal to a healthy 's - that is, the units per Figure value. This invariably results in the destruction of exactly one . The one exception is the spell, which is meant to do only single points of . However, this spell is bugged in the official game, and actually deals much more than intended, as noted below. Figure-based Special Damage is always resistable. Whether it deals or not depends entirely on the outcome of a check. This is a randomly generated number between 1 and 10 - essentially a 10-sided die -, and is successful if the result is less than, or equal to, the unit's score. However, the amount of attacks, and therefore the amount of rolls required, varies by Attack Type. Touch Attacks, which are "added effects" to Conventional Damage attacks, are executed once per attacking Figure. They are technically part of the conventional attack that triggers them. Gaze Attacks and spells, on the other hand, are akin to Area Damage: they perform one attack per defending Figure. That is, it is the target unit's Figure count that determines how many checks they have to make against the effect. This is true even when attacking, or being attacked by, , the game's only Gaze Attack unit. The amount of Figures does not matter. The Gaze effect only activates once, but when it does, it targets each opposing at the same time. deals more than it was designed to (according to its documentation) because of a coding mistake. After the rolls are made, while summing up the Damage Points, the game erroneously substitutes the amount of failed checks for the intended before multiplying the two. This yields equal to the square of the failures, rather than their actual amount. The bug is fixed in the Unofficial Patch 1.50. Losing and Regaining Figures Whenever a Multi-Figure Unit reaches a recorded total that is a multiple of its per Figure, it loses a . Conversely, reducing the to one point below such a value causes the unit to regain one. This can also be easily expressed using the "top figure damage": whenever it reaches the per Figure value, a is lost, and the counter resets. On the other hand, if it would go negative, and the unit can still regain , it will do so, and the new "top figure damage" becomes the negative value plus the unit's per Figure. Naturally, this can repeat more than once in both directions during the resolution of a single attack or effect, resulting in the loss or revival of multiple . Figure Counts The table below lists the maximum Figure count of each unit in Master of Magic: Category:Unit Attributes